Captive tiger farms in Southeast Asia house thousands of tigers in conditions that serve commercial interests while providing inadequate welfare, and may fuel illegal wildlife trade.
Captive tiger farms represent a profound welfare failure for one of the world's most charismatic species. Tigers in small cages cannot fulfill any significant proportion of their natural behavioral repertoire. Social isolation, inactivity, and barren environments produce severe psychological harm visible in stereotypies and abnormal behavior. The commercial exploitation of tigers for their parts treats these complex animals purely as production units. The welfare case against tiger farms is absolute — no commercial justification can outweigh the suffering imposed by such conditions.